roman army battling Parthians in Osprey\'s Actium

[bachmat66]

Salve,
Have you seen the new Osprey title on the battle of Actium 31 BC. I just started browsing though it and found a page depicting Mark Anthony 'success' in Parthia.
I find this page particular page very intriguing, both in artistic execution and choice of subject wich is the already mentioned Marcus Antonius disastrous campaign against Parthian kingdom.
The color images are more telling but for now I want to add this whole page, text and image. I find the image weak and poorly executed, along with the other illustrations painted in the book by the illustrator. But as a whole I am looking for a reason why the otherwise disastrous campaign is imagined here as some sort of success on the part of Marcus Antonius
Do you think this image and text reflects the character of the Marcus Antonius campaign in Parthia?
Does any of you, illustrious members, have more to say about this particular episode or the whole campaign... or this image etc. I can post the color images as well.. for more discussion

[MD]

It's difficult to judge your excerpt without nowing the context. I asume this page is all info given about Anthony's parthian war?

It's certainly an incomplete description, insufficient to judge the campaign by reading this text alone. However I don't have the impression that the author wants to display the campaign as any kind of success or just intentionally paint a more favorable picture than commonly found. The text makes it clear that the Roman army had to retreat and suffered high casualties. Also that Antonius wasn't too well prepared to fight the Parthians and that the described episode was just "a rare tactical success". He probably just choose what he considered as the most interesting anecdote from the various attempts to counter the parthian hit and run tactics. At least Antonius was able to march his army deep into enemy territory and return alive. Thus in this aspect he was indeed much more successful than Crassus who lost his whole force just hundred km beyond the Euphrates during the last Roman invasion of Parthian soil.

[bachmat66]

czolem,
well this is the passage from Plutarch :45 via http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/R ... tony*.html

'However, as the Romans were descending some steep hills, the Parthians attacked them and shot at them as they slowly moved along. Then the shield-bearers wheeled about, enclosing the lighter armed troops within their ranks, while they themselves dropped on one knee and held their shields out before them. The second rank held their shields out over the heads of the first, and the next rank likewise. The resulting appearance is very like that of a roof,41 affords a striking spectacle, and is the most effective of protections against arrows, which glide off from it. 3 The Parthians, however, thinking that the Romans dropping on one knee was a sign of fatigue and exhaustion, laid aside their bows, grasped their spears by the middle and came to close quarters. But the Romans, with a full battle cry, suddenly sprang up, and thrusting with their javelins slew the foremost of the Parthians and put all the rest to rout. This happened also on the following days as the Romans, little by little, proceeded on their way. '
This passage does not imply that Mark Anthony tried to set a trap, this testudo was simply quite advance tactical move used by the legions as defense against incoming missile fire.
This excerpt is just the text explanation to the illustration, there is no mentuion of this 'victory,' in the text itself..

The Anthony's Parthian war is described in more detail on some 10 pages of this book by default dedicated to Actium.
There is a nice map, image of Queen Musa (who came into Parthia around 20 BC as a part of exchanges with Augustus), slave, concubine and eventually wife to the Parthian Shah, and an obligatory ceramic image of the Parthian cataphract charging a lion, and finally big, averse and reverse, coin - http://www.parthia.com/coins/pdc_21583.jpg - of Phartes IV ( http://www.parthia.com/phraates4.htm ).
There are usual pronouncements about eastern autocracy, details about this failed campaign, and the miltiary failure is toned down but the loses in veteran legionaries are underlined strongly.
...generally I think this expedition to conquer the riches of the East, in wake of prematurely aborted Caesar's orginal plans, merits a full book itself. Instead it was stuffed in to this book on Actium and that alone may mean the end of Osprey interest in this subject - unfortunately in my opinion.

Turning to the images itself you can judge them here as well, but I think they were planed with grand scale and lots of spirit but they are very poorly executed, rushed perhaps?
enjoy and do comment.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Yes, I have read the book and what I see there is the same anti-cavelry formation we use in our displays.
I have also read another book on the subject, which also describes the measures taken by the retreating army to defend itself against the parthian attacks.
It was not a victory but just a success in a very disasterous campaign.

I had the impression from the other descriptions that this was the rear of the retreating army which was under attack, not so much a line of defense
as shown in the images. But still, they are interesting depictions.